


кінець моєї нескінченної весни

by dissintegrate



Category: EXID (Band)
Genre: F/F, Mood Board Bingo, Rusalka (Water Spirit), hyojin is dead but not really, ivan kupala, pagan slavic folk mythology, tile 16
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 12:23:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19723615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dissintegrate/pseuds/dissintegrate
Summary: [the end of my eternal spring]heeyeon finally finds hyojin again.





	кінець моєї нескінченної весни

**Author's Note:**

> i've had this on my mind for years and i finally got tired of the lack of wlw fics and gg fics in general so here you go. my signature vague angst oneshot but with my favorite girls. (i might expand on this later but no promises)
> 
> i understand this is a very obscure niche setting/concept so i'm gonna leave some explanations in the end notes so yall are not as confused as you could be

☼

heeyeon is looking up at the sky, the lavender rise of the sun. it washes everything in soft light. the flowers under her fingers are just as soft, just as part of the sky. heeyeon is not sad. she’s just floating, she’s just looking at the sky the way she’d taught herself over the span of her barely eighteen years.

look at the sky. connect it with the earth.

the way she’d taught hyojin so many years ago.

black black eyes, rouge lips, hyojin was everything sharp to heeyeon’s softness. she was a little wind, always twirling through the village. demanded a strong opinion, people would either die for her or want her dead.

the latter got their wish rather quickly.

a few lost fireflies of the night are still buzzing around, dizzy. souls of the village. heeyeon looks for moths, because hyojin’s soul has always been a moth. there are none around this morning.

☼

the birds are chirping through the forest and all the songs, all the words are out of order. seokjin won’t stop laughing and it resonates through the woods. junghwa keeps stopping for flowers instead of picking up firewood, like everyone else. heeyeon keeps to the edges and picks up dried sticks in silence as all of them wander back and forth, through the forest, to the river.

_ \--larks, oh skylarks-- _ the sky is setting lower. the white cotton of heeyeon’s dress flows with the wind, with the way she can’t seem to walk still. she joins in with a voice quiet enough to not be heard in the chorus. the sun is leaving spots of shadow through the leaves in the trees.

hyerin joins her, links their elbows when she sees heeyeon on her own _ \--give us summer, _ heeyeon can only laugh even though there’s a stone stuck in her throat _ \--and we will give you winter.  _ soon it will be time for the fire.

_ oh skylarks, _

a breeze shuffles through bushes, through the tops of the green green trees.

_ that’s all we have for you. _

hoseok grins at her whenever their eyes catch sometimes. there’s something resigned in that grin, something decadent and old. heeyeon joins junghwa’s next verse, looking away,  _ bring us spring, float it down the river. we will give you cheer. take all the snow down with you, wash all the frost away. _

☼

she spends the afternoon in the meadow, in the farthest corner. the rest of the girls are so far away she can’t even hear their voices, although hyorin’s occasional shriek of laughter carries over.

heeyeon’s fingers are quick and careful, knitting flower stems together. she hums under her breath, wondering what fate this flower crown will bring her. hoseok said he wants to jump over the fire together. and hoseok is a most loved bachelor of the village, every girl wants him. she wonders what made him choose her, she’d never showed much interest in him.

she’s a bit of a loner, a bit of a good girl who’s fawned over by the older generations but mostly ignored by people her age. she’d always felt trapped here, a bit out of her depth.

_ spring, spring, come visit us, _ she mumbles under her breath, twisting fern and geraniums carefully together,

_ come on the wings of spring birds, _

she only allows herself to miss hyojin on this one day each year.

_ in the arms of scented wind. _

☼

evening has been falling for a while. heeyeon wades away from the main group, from the chatter. the girls are letting their flower wreaths into the river, candlelight casting hushed shadows, diabolic over their faces.

heeyeon watches as junghwa’s wreath drops straight through the water as the skirt of her white cotton dress floats around her like a puddle. hyerin tries to comfort her tears. heeyeon looks away, hoping she gets the same ending. she won’t cry about it though.

gently she lets her own wreath down, places it on the water. it’s colorful, full of luscious leaves and flowers that didn’t get a chance to wilt yet. she takes her hands away. the candle flickers and for a second heeyeon thinks it might topple over.

but it stays afloat, gently moving with the stream. heeyeon watches it, letting out a long breath.

the fireflies are out again, lighting up the darkening river and the air around it. heeyeon looks for moths but there aren’t any. her wreath floats farther and farther from her. junghwa’s cries are fading, replaced by laughter of someone else.

heeyeon always feels like she’s just on the edge of being a part of them. except she’d rather fall of that edge completely. she wades farther down the river, past her thighs, past her waist, following her treacherous flowers.

this part of the river is shaded with willows drooping into the gentle-flowing water. the soft branches brush over heeyeon’s shoulder, like they’re giving their blessings. it’s quiet here.

a soft voice echoes and at first heeyeon thinks it’s her own humming. but it grows stronger and it’s a lot sadder. the willow’s caress gets firmer and colder and heeyeon slows down. she’s lost sight of her wreath, the candle must’ve flickered out.

goosebumps form over her skin. the river is cold here. the fabric of her dress sticks to her skin and she lifts a hand to move a lock of hair out of her eyes.

the riverbed under her feet is soft, the mud seeps between her toes. for some reason she’s not afraid when she turns around.

hyojin is watching her steadily. her eyes are full of river water and she’s so close heeyeon can smell rotting moss on her. she’s waist deep in the dark water, tangled locks of her hair floating like heeyeon’s dress. she’s mostly a silhouette in the dusk but heeyeon knows exactly who she is.

she reaches a hand toward her reverently.

hyojin moves her lips in a tentative smile. her teeth are jagged a bit, disorderly with bits of green stuck in between. heeyeon feels like she can breathe again and it’s such a foreign feeling she starts hyperventilating.

hyojin’s hand goes up to take heeyeon’s. her fingernails are just as jagged and dirty as her teeth.

when their hands intertwine, there really isn’t a reason for them to speak. hyojin’s skin is cold and wet and maybe a little dead and rotting. heeyeon doesn’t cry even though she wants to, she’s breathing too fast. and hyojin’s face is all kinds of a mess but she’s still smiling.

when their hands let go and hyojin starts to wade away into the thick of hanging willow branches. she’s moving backward, facing heeyeon, who watches her go.

☼

she’s holding junghwa’s hand on the right and hyerin’s on the left and they’re swirling around the fire in one big circle and everyone is laughing and singing, eyes burning with reflection of the fire. heeyeon’s eyes are glued to the pole in the middle of the fire, the flames licking up at it. all the flowers are scorched and the ashes fling themselves into the air. heeyeon thinks they’re trying to escape. she thinks her face is frozen in a wide imitation smile but she’s not aware of it, not fully. she’s pulled along with the flow.

the image of hyojin--no, the rusalka--keeps playing through her mind. the sharp teeth, the moss hair. the way she smiled so kindly at heeyeon, like she was ready to grant every one of her wish for free.

rusalki are the embodiment of evil, heeyeon has been taught every ritual to keep them away since she was a child. they’re monsters who attack people. they’re unclean. they’re black evil. spirits of tortured virgin souls. heeyeon believed all that, she never had a reason not to. she’d heard stories of young men being attacked when they went out into the river because they were unlucky. of cattle disappearing. it was true.

but heeyeon had never seen one until now and she would’ve never imagined them to be so human. so kind, too, so enticing.

she’s never hyojin turning into one of them.

and now heeyeon doesn’t want to jump over the fire with hoseok. maybe that’s what they meant by possessed. maybe something evil really did enter her because now she doesn’t want to be cleansed by the fire. she doesn’t want to go anywhere near it.

maybe there’s something evil in heeyeon now but it doesn’t feel like it. it feels like freedom, it feels like she finally knows what she wants. if that’s what a curse feels like, heeyeon wishes she’d been cursed the moment hyojin was taken from her.

the sounds of the festivities break through her daze and heeyeon snaps out of it. junghwa and hyerin let go of her hands and join a line for jumping over the fire. hoseok is waiting for her with his grin, hand stretched out for her to take. it’s almost their turn.

everything is swirling with the fire and shadows, with all the voices of the people surrounding the bonfire.

and heeyeon starts to slowly shake her head.

_ spring, spring, take me away. _

hoseok’s grin slowly melts away.

_ i’ll give you my winter. _

she says, “no.” she says, “not jumping.”

and it’s as if the whole village has been waiting for something like this to happen. a whole bucket of water splashes over her back and heeyeon gasps, stumbling forward.

“witch,” someone calls out with contempt that’s more shocking than the water. hoseok’s face transforms slowly, whenever heeyeon looks at it. horror.

she wants to escape, to run, but no one will let her. she’s surrounded by the whole village. her skin is burning from the nettle someone started hitting her with.

she doesn’t cry, she just wants to leave. she just wants to leave. she finally has something to want.

so she struggles, as hard as she can. she takes more welts from the nettle. but then there are screams, different kind. not joyous ones, not accusing ones. no, these ones are of terror.

the hands around her loosen, and heeyeon turns away from the fire. people are starting to run, starting to grab for things to save them. and heeyeon turns and sees hyojin. hair wild, and eyes determined, glinting. she tears at every person who gets in her way.

she reaches heeyeon. takes her hand so gently. heeyeon at this point has stopped looking at anyone else. hyojin pulls her into a run until they’re jumping over the fire. the crackles and the sparks are in every direction, barking at them. heeyeon’s stomach swoops from under her when her feet touch the ground again. everyone is in chaos and heeyeon is grinning harder than she thought she could. teeth so much more mossy in the light.

everything is chaos but they run, tripping over their feet.

**Author's Note:**

> ivan kupala is a pagan slavic festival (that turned into a christian holiday after the whole christinazation of kievan rus' in the 6th century) taking place on the day and night of summer solstice (usually july 6-7, or june 23-24 on the old calendar). it's a celebration of fertility and summer and cleansing (kupala literally means washing) and the virgin girls make flower wreaths and sing songs and swim in the river (because it was believed that's when the water has magical blessing and healing properties that will bring luck and protection from evil spirits).
> 
> on kupala night, a huge fire is built by the river (it's believed this is the day when fire and water connect). usually a scarecrow or a pole decorated with flowers and wild grasses is set up in the middle of it and it gets burnt down. the youth dances around the fire all night, holding hands and going around it in circles, singing kupala songs. the fire is believed to have cleansing power. everyone is required to jump over the fire for cleansing and if you don't do it you're basically a witch. unmarried couples jump over the fire together to see how much luck they'll have when they marry. the higher they jump the better. virgin girls let their flower wreaths float down the river w a candle in the middle and the longer it floats, the more luck and happiness they will have in their future marriage.
> 
> rusalki (rusalka in singular) are believed to be evil spirits of girls who died virgins. supposedly they can attack people and cattle and some parts of rivers may be cursed because rusalki live in them. they're most commonly characterized as naked women with very long messy green-ish hair.
> 
> slavic pagan folklore has a /lot of different variations in traditions and rituals and mythology but here i'm going by mostly eastern/ukranian traditions which i'm most knowledgeable in. although, a disclaimer: some parts are from my own imagination and interpretation. you can read up more on wikipeadia if that's something you want to learn more about. or come ask me stuff on [twt](https://twitter.com/dissintegrate/) / [cc](https://curiouscat.me/dissintegrate/) since i'm just a tiny bit obsessed and my older relatives are tired of me pestering them for information.
> 
> if you don't give a shit and just want to read about some witchy girls in love, that's also valid.
> 
> playlist can be found here ([x](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0qNfs07Sh1QZZukUglT54t?si=xN1zewW2TpyUI4ZWXjFsBA))


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